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Constitution of Washingtonia
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Washingtonia (or Washingtonian Constitution) is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Washingtonia and was drafted and adopted by the Constitutional Assembly (later the Grand Washingtonian Assembly) in September of 1913. The Constitution itself was preceded briefly by the Assembly Pact which created the Constitutional Assembly and set out its mandate, including the fundamental values which must be reflected in the final constitution. Before this time, the Kingdom never had a single supreme law or representative body, and was ruled by royal decrees from the Monarchy. The Washingtonian Civil War of 1899 to 1910 was the direct cause of this constitutional compromise between the republicans and the royalists. Organizational structure *Chapter: 1 - in use **Section: 1 - in use **Subsection: (a) - in use ***Clause: (i) - in use ***Subclause: (aa) - not in use Drafting Although all the delegates except those absent took part in debating and discussing the document, similar to that of the United States Constitution, the official creation of the physical document, its format and style was left to certain individuals. The Constitutional Assembly set up three committees to handle this task, namely, the Constitutional Committee for Grammar and Language, which would sift through all the provisions fixing grammar, spelling and register; the Constitutional Committee for Placing, which would take all the provisions and group them under logical headings and place all the chapters in an order that would make sense; and finally the Constitutional Committee for Review, which consisted of veteran legal professionals from Washingtonia and abroad to review the consistency of the document and moreover its practicality. The Review Committee had the right to within 5 days after closing its session to send the document back to the Assembly with their recommendations and comments, however, did not do so, and approved the draft. Text Preamble Recognizing the danger of autocratic rule, believing that democracy is the way forward and for our unequivocal love of nation, we the Constitutional Assembly of 1913 do hereby through the authority granted in us by the King, Brandon I Washington, establish this Constitution as a framework wherein our democratic government will function. Chapter 1: Basic provisions *1. The Kingdom of Washingtonia (alternatively "the Kingdom" or "Washingtonia") is one unitary constitutional monarchy located in the North Atlantic Ocean. *2. The God of the Christian Religion is the sovereign Emperor of Washingtonia. *3. This Constitution is the supreme law of the nation; and is founded upon the values of freedom, equality and dignity among men. *4. The capital of Washingtonia is the city of Foundersville in the Province of North Island (as amended, 1915). *5. The official language of Washingtonia will be English. **5(a) French is recognized as the ceremonial second language of the Kingdom. Chapter 2: Bill of Rights *1. The Right to Life, Right to Liberty and the Right to Property shall remain the fundamental natural rights bestowed upon all men by God within the framework of the national interest. *2. Men shall have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of thought and freedom of assembly to the extent that the practice of these rights do not infringe upon those same rights of others and are in the national interest so determined by a recognized court of law. *3. Men shall have the right to self defense and the defense of other men unless instructed otherwise by an authority granted by law. *4. Men shall be considered innocent of a crime until fairly proven guilty by a recognized court of law. **4(a) Men shall not be required to bear witness against themselves. **4(b) Men shall not be required to bear witness against their family. **4© Men shall not have their property seized or searched without a warrant expressly stating the items and property to be seized or searched, signed by a presiding officer of a recognized court of law. **4(d) Men shall have the option of being tried by a jury of their peers, consisting of seven randomly chosen men or the option of being tried by a tribunal of three qualified presiding officers. *5. Men shall not be required to preform uncompensated labor, known as "slavery", without a presiding officer at a recognized court of law deciding such punishment the best course for crimes committed. Chapter 3: The Monarchy *1. The Monarch is divinely appointed by God as the Ruler of Washingtonia. *2. The Monarch's official style is "By the Grace of God, His Royal Highness, the King of Washingtonia, Lord Rightful Ruler of the United States of America, Principal of the House of Washington, General-in-Chief of the Royal Washingtonian Armed Forces, High Guardian of the Constitution and Master of Laws, X" *3. The Monarch is referred to as "the King of Washingtonia" or the "Queen of Washingtonia" depending on their gender. **3(a) The ascendance of females to the Throne is only possible if no males relating to the previous Monarch (sons, brothers, nephews or cousins) are available. *4. The firstborn son of the current Monarch becomes the heir apparent (known as "the Crown Prince") to the Monarchy and the Throne. **4(a) If the heir is to be female (see Chapter 3(2)(a)), she is to be known as "the Crown Princess" until a qualified male is available or until she ascends to the Throne. *5. If no male or female from the House of Washington is available to ascend to the Throne, the current head of the next most senior noble house becomes Monarch. **5(a) In such case, this Monarch must choose a Queen Consort from the House of Washington, and his issue from that Queen is to be the heir apparent. *6. The spouse of the Monarchy is to be referred to officially as "the Queen Consort". **6(a) If the Monarch is female, the spouse of the Monarch is to be referred to officially as "the King Consort". *7. The House of Washington is to be the ruling noble house of Washingtonia, with the Monarch as its Principal. **7(a) The Monarch may by Royal Decree recognize and create more noble houses. *8. The Monarch is the only individual who may take it upon himself to dissolve the Monarchy of Washingtonia. **8(a) If so chooseth, once the heir ascends to the Throne, he may undo the act of his predecessor. **8(b) The provision mentioned in 4(a) only applies to the first heir after the Monarchy has been dissolved. *9. If the Monarchy is dissolved, the House of Washington and the other noble Houses of Washingtonia will remain as ceremonial symbols uniting the people of the nation. **9(a) The leader of the House of Washington will henceforth, instead of King, be known as "Lord Washington, R.E." of which the "R.E." stands for Rex Emeritus. Chapter 4: The Grand Assembly *1. The Grand Washingtonian Assembly (alternatively "Grand Assembly") is the highest lawmaking and representative body within the Kingdom. *2. The Grand Assembly shall create new legislation and amend or repeal existing legislation based upon the will of the common man. *3. The Grand Assembly shall meet at least twice per year separated by a time period of no less than four months. *4. The Grand Assembly shall from within its own elect a Speaker who shall act as the chairman of debates and the tallier of votes. *5. The Grand Assembly when they deem fit, shall impeach the President of the Kingdom when he oversteps the constitutional limits placed upon his office. **5(a) Such an impeachment action shall require seventy-five percent approval from the House with the quorum set at eighty-five percent of the total size of the House. *6. The Grand Assembly shall be the representative body of the common man of Washingtonia, elected by means of the following: (as amended, 1945) **6(a) Eighty-three point four percent of the House will be elected in proportion to the amount of votes received in parliamentary districts throughout the Kingdom. **6(b) Six point six of the House will be elected by the provincial legislatures from each of the provinces, divided equally among them. **6© Ten percent of the House will be elected by the already-elected ninety percent, from a list of field-specific candidates who were chosen at the last sitting of the previous Grand Assembly. ***6©(i) Such candidates will be elected at the Grand Assembly's first sitting after the general elections. *7. The general elections for the Grand Assembly take place once every five years, at the same time as that of the President. Chapter 5: The Presidency *1. "The Presidency" refers to the President of the Kingdom and his Presidential Cabinet. *2. The President is elected separately from that of the Grand Assembly through popular vote once every five years at the same time as that of the Grand Assembly. *3. The ministers in the Presidential Cabinet are appointed by the President at his leisure to function as proxies in the various fields of the President's duty mandate. *4. Should the Office of the President become vacant, the most senior minister within the Presidential Cabinet shall become the Acting President. **4(a) Seniority is determined by the time that minister spent within his post. **4(b) Exactly six months after the date of the swearing in of the Acting President, popular elections for the President will be held if therein between was not already a scheduled popular election. *5. The President may dissolve the Presidential Cabinet or create a new ministry at his leisure. *6. If the Office of the President becomes vacant at the time of a dissolved Presidential Cabinet, the Speaker of the Grand Assembly shall become the Acting President and thereupon be removed from the Grand Assembly. *7. Males of age 25 and above, who must have been citizens of the Kingdom for at least 5 years and who must have sworn allegiance to the Monarchy are eligible for the Office of the President. *8. The duties of the President follows: **8(a) To act as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Washingtonian Armed Forces, second to the Monarch. **8(b) To sign legislation of the Grand Assembly into law. **8© To veto such legislation he deems unfit for confirmation. ***8©(i) Such vetoed legislation must return to the Grand Assembly and may at the Grand Assembly's discretion be passed once more with a sixty-six point three majority to disregard the veto of the President. The Constitutional Court must upon a veto investigate the constitutionality of such legislation and declare it either constitutional or unconstitutional. **8(d) To act as the Chief Diplomat of the Kingdom and conduct affairs of foreign nature to the exclusion of 8(f) of this section in the stead of the Monarch if the Monarch is not available. **8(e) To declare war upon those aggressors against the Kingdom and the Monarchy. ***8(e)(i) Such declarations of war shall be ratified or annulled by the Grand Assembly within ten days of the declaration. ***8(e)(ii) Should such declaration of war be annulled, the Royal Washingtonian Armed Forces shall speedily be returned to the state wherein they were before such declaration, and peace declared. **8(f) To sign treaties with foreign powers on behalf of the Kingdom. ***8(f)(i) Such treaties shall be ratified or annulled by the Grand Assembly within 10 days of such signing. **8(g) To in general apply and execute the legislation passed by the Grand Assembly fairly and reasonably. **8(h) To nominate the Chief Justice and the Justices of the Constitutional Court and to nominate the judicial presiding officers of the Supreme Court and of any other court of law established by the Grand Assembly. Chapter 6: The Judiciary *1. The highest court of law in Washingtonia is the Constitutional Court, which is the final court of appeal in any and all matters concerning this Constitution. **1(a) The Chief Justice is the chairperson of the Constitutional Court. **1(b) The Chief Justice is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Grand Assembly. **1© Four other Justices appointed in the same manner share the judicial bench with the Chief Justice. *2. The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in all non-constitutional matters. **2(a) The President of the Supreme Court is the chairperson of the Supreme Court. **2(b) The President of the Supreme Court is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Grand Assembly. **2© Two other Judges appointed in the same manner share the judicial bench with the President of the Supreme Court. *3. The Grand Assembly shall establish and recognize any other courts of law - all of which including the aforementioned must be independent from both the Presidency, the Grand Assembly and the Monarchy, and act without fear, favor or prejudice. Chapter 7: The Provinces *1. The Kingdom shall be divided into any number of provinces the Grand Assembly so deems fit. **1(a) As of January of 1915, the Kingdom is divided into the two provinces of North Island and South Island (as amended, 1915). *2. The Grand Assembly shall through legislation decide upon which powers the governments of the provinces shall have. *3. Each province must have its own provincial legislature elected popularly by the men of that province. *4. There shall be one person in the provincial legislature for every five percent of the population of that province. *5. Provincial legislature elections must take place ten days before the national general election every five years to ensure such provincial legislature has sufficient time to choose and then introduce its share of the candidates representing that province to the newly-elected Grand Assembly (see Chapter 4) (as amended 1945). Chapter 8: Alteration of the Constitution *1. To amend Chapter 1 or Chapter 2 of this Constitution, the Grand Assembly must pass an Amendment Bill with a majority of seventy-five percent of the House with the quorum set at ninety-five percent of the total size of the House. *2. To amend another chapter of this Constitution, the Grand Assembly must pass an Amendment Bill with a majority of sixty-six point three percent of the House with the quorum set at seventy-five percent of the total size of the House. *3. To add a new Chapter to this Constitution, the Grand Assembly must pass a Chapter Addition Bill with a majority of sixty-six point three percent of the House with the quorum set at one-hundred percent of the total size of the House. **3(a) Such new Chapter must be in line with every other unamended provision of this Constitution. The "men" debate Washingtonia is known today as one of the most patriarchal Western nations in the world for its legislated discrimination against females. The Constitution refers only to "men" and not to "persons" or "people", which led to FEDERAL taking the matter to the Constitutional Court. The Court ruled in its landmark case FEDERAL vs. The Throne that the reference "men" does indeed only apply to males, given Chapter 1(4) recognizing the Christian God as the sovereign and the Court interpreting Ephesians 5:22-24 as explicitly placing females as second to males. In dicta, however, Justice Max Sean pointed out that regardless of what the Constitution recognizes, women are protected excessively by legislation, and that men and women alike enjoy basically the same rights. FEDERAL itself was outraged by the decision and stated that it will continue to fight for constitutional recognition of women's rights. Several other civil rights organizations throughout the world, as well as the United Nations itself, called the "constitutional situation" in Washingtonia "oppressive and contrary to the new age of universal human rights". Several Christian Libertarian assemblymen in the Grand Assembly have come out in support of the women's constitutional rights movement while large factions within the Union Nationalist Party continue to defend the traditional value system "bestowed upon us by God". See also Category:Kingdom of Washingtonia Category:Law of Washingtonia